Portuguese arrested in the US for voting illegally: what happens now?

Portuguese arrested in the US for voting illegally: what happens now?

A 54-year-old Portuguese was arrested in the US for suspected electoral fraud. Despite legally living in the country as a child, Paulo Jorge Silva had no right to vote in the presidential elections of 2024. Now he faces prison risks, fines and expulsion.

© Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Getty Images


18/10/2026
by

Natacha Nunes Costa

Athe Philadelphia authorities in the United States detained a Portuguese citizen who resides legally in the country on October 5, for suspected electoral fraud.

 

The man was accused of illegally voting in the November 2024 presidential elections, which re-elected Donald Trump.

In addition to 54-year-old Paulo Jorge Silva, 15 other people were also arrested and indicted by the US Department of Justice for the same crime.

According to the AOL website, Paulo, which has been living in the United States since 1978, was arrested by HSI elements, a department of the Immigration and Border Service, better known as ICE.

The prosecution recalls that Portuguese, despite being legalized in the United States, could not have voted, since it is foreign.

Now, Paulo risks a year in prison, having to pay a fine of $100,000, about 90 thousand euros, and still being expelled from the country where he lives as a child.

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